What Are Quilters Blogging About Today?

 My research of one site showed this was a Thanksgiving cactus. Because it bloomed at Easter, I thought it might be one programmed for spring, but no. I couldn't remember the colour of the original plant, but turns out this is pink. The Geranium there is also budding.

Of note this week...

A little bit of Irish- I spent a lot of time with William's wonderful words in younger days and also off and on throughout my life. A key 20th century poet and Nobel Prize winner and Irish as well.  I especially love his phrasing. 

Thank you all for the interest in items from the last post. Answers to the questions I received...

January's cake: Daughter Beth made Rock Recipe's Orange Velvet Cake With Buttercream Frosting and the recipe is at that link. She says she has made almost all of Barry's Velvet cakes and they all turned out well...we've eaten quite a few of them and can certainly agree!

 The word for the start of February is SNOW and lots of it. I've been shovelling and shuffling about the trails. So pretty. Thursday's walk was through a winter wonderland. I kept stopping to look up,  gaze around at how beautiful the forest looked. Despite it is a bold look, and stark too with the brilliant white against all the black looking branches, I felt it was very calming.  

And the view through the window on the back stairwell always makes me stop and admire...in all the four seasons.

  We have Ned's litter mate, Petey, here with us for a while and I've been making sure they have been getting lots of exercise and attention. Being Labradors, they both are needy when it comes to pats and rubs.  All joyful to the two of us as we are basically in isolation and this is a pleasant diversion. It's also like old times to have two dogs again. 

Well, was it you who stole August?  Where in the heck did it go?  Is it just me or are we in some kind of time vortex that is collapsing the hours and days. My head is back there in July somewhere.  Anyway, the calendar says it's September so I'll just have to go along. 

Here is the little poem that Kathy Schmitz included with this September redwork embroidery pattern below she called Woodland. I can't believe I stitched this set back in 2018-seems like only last year.

           "In autumn when the wind is up,

             I know ...

Don't know how you folks in warmer climates do it!  I guess it's because I'm originally an east coast Canadian that the humidity really really gets to me. I find it isn't at all pleasant to walk, jog or garden in. I can't shake the idea that even breathing air like that is not good for you. 

But I'm all set up with overhead fans whirring and this in front of me.

I'm listening to Anne Tyler's Red Haired Girl By the Side of the Road.  I think I read it before ...

 Hello all. A sincere thank you for the emails we are still receiving. All read, all appreciated and put a smile on my face.

It has snowed; I've been shoveling. There has been sun and brilliant blue skies. There have also been frigid temperatures with wind chills in the minus twenties celsius.  Yes all since I last wrote to you. 

All in all, a normal February for us...actually perhaps warmer than usual because we haven't dipped to the minus thirties which is normal too for here. On the warmer days, daughter and Robbie have been here riding the little ski doos around the property. 

 I've been striving to spend an hour a day outside in the fresh air. I feel it is beneficial in many ways and it is true that I always come inside feeling upbeat and feeling more refreshed somehow. And also grateful for the warmth of indoors and perhaps a cup of tea waiting for me. 

How do I spend an hour outside?  Usually our couple of walks take 20 -30 minutes each. By myself I collect twigs and tree bits for the fire and I also ramble about with my camera. Late afternoon yesterday I sat on a log ...

On Friday we were supposed to stack the last two loads of wood. It was damp and rained lightly the whole day and if it let up at all, we missed it. I made the executive decision that I didn't want to chance us getting wet and chilled so no wood got stacked. 

Instead we spent the day indoors working at our various chores/projects and putting up with a grumpy Labrador who just doesn't get it that we're old. Finally I couldn't take the harrumphing anymore and donned the heavy raincoat and took her out ...

I bet you would not be able to guess which of the garden plants this little leaf came from. The strange weather this year- cold and then very warm again, seems to have made for interesting patterns in the fading leaves. This is from the old rose bush and the ground was covered yesterday with similarly patterned leaves. Such a pretty autumn palette. 

Pouring down rain today but that's okay. I've been outside a lot lately so this is good to be in and taking stock, catching up on a bit of housework, etc. I was up early and made a spaghetti sauce for supper tonight. I like to simmer it for a long time and a tip when using tomatoes in sauces, always add a little sugar to cut the acidity.  I'm thinking of making Baked Spaghetti which sounds odd but is so good. Here at Spend With Pennies you'll find an easy recipe.

Amy at  Diary of ...

Have you seen this before? Amazing!! Another gem sent to me by my mother. All I kept thinking as I watched this was, “NOOOO! It’s too beautiful to cut into!” While at the same time fascinated and eagerly awaiting the next cake to see what was inside. Creativity knows no bounds. Then there’s this, which… Continue reading Random Videos & Thoughts

Recently I had the most awful of nights.

The tools of my trade these days...I fill my pink weed bucket about four times a morning when I'm out in the garden weeding. By then I'm tired or too hot or hungry. This garden, the cultivated almost 1.5 acres, is a real work in progress especially in my very amateur hands. It is also real work but luckily I enjoy it very much.  

Happy Thursday!

Hot June; up in the night. Murphy with me and it was 24 degrees C outside. Windows were wide open after being closed all day. What did she hear?? If only she could talk to help me understand what was so interesting to warrant barking and waking me and then look at me with hopeful eyes as if I can tell her all about it.  

I had a hankering for cake on the weekend, thought about it Saturday and relented on Sunday.  I made a French Apple Cake and used several Ambrosia apples that we love from Costco. It was light and delicious...what a great recipe and wonderful instructions from the talented Jenn at Once Upon a Chef. Just because it has French in the title doesn't mean it's fancy- quite the opposite, simple ingredients really. It tastes so good we are not needing any cream or ice cream with it.  And because I'm basically sugar free, it is satisfying my ...

It is now past midwinter and our snow is piling on snow. 

A rabbit has been using the little ornamental fir bush at the front as a home this winter; have never seen him just the tracks.